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Republicans appoint Arshinkoff puppet to Summit County Board of Elections

With Alex Arshinkoff’s last day on the Summit County Board of Elections fast approaching, the local GOP is busy trying to find the gay godfather’s successor.
Last week, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner refused to reappoint Arshinkoff to his seat, citing numerous complaints from board workers who claimed that Arshinkoff is a divisive and manipulative leader.
Considering that Brunner’s move was an attempt to free the board from Arshinkoff’s stranglehold, you’d think that Republicans would get the hint and appoint someone regarded as righteous. But that’s not the case…
On Tuesday night, Arshinkoff, along with 40 members of the GOP’s Executive Committee, nominated Brian Daley.
Daley isn’t much of a player, other than serving one term on the Hudson City Council. He was ousted from the seat after throwing a fit over a failed city charter amendment in 2006 that would bar family members from simultaneously holding elected positions. At the time, Daley and his daughter were both on the council.
(C-Notes called Daley the day before his nomination was announced. He refused to answer questions regarding “rumors.” He hasn’t returned our calls since.)
But Daley is a staunch Arshinkoff ally, says Republican state Senator Kevin Coughlin. “Alex might as well be standing behind him making decisions. [Brunner’s] intention was to clean up the board. Alex’s puppet would not achieve that.”
It’s now Brunner’s job to rule on the party’s nominee. “Her letter explaining why she was not reappointing Alex was so strong and to the point,” Coughlin says. “I think that simply appointing someone who would be a puppet of Alex would be of equal concern to her. It’ll be interesting to see what she does.” – Denise Grollmus